Nanyang Commandery ( zh, 南陽郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

. It was centered in present-day

Nanyang, Henan Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the ...

History

Nanyang Commandery was established by Qin in the 35th year of King Zhao (272 BC). The seat was Wan (), present-day

. It consisted of the land north of the Han River previously conquered from

Chu Chu or CHU may refer to: Chinese history * Chu (state) (c. 1030 BC–223 BC), a state during the Zhou dynasty * Western Chu (206 BC–202 BC), a state founded and ruled by Xiang Yu * Chu Kingdom (Han dynasty) (201 BC–70 AD), a kingdom of the Ha ...

. In the Western Han dynasty, the commandery consisted of 36 counties: Wan, Chou (), Duyan (), Zan (), Yuyang (), Boshan (), Nieyang (), Yin (), Duyang (), Zhi (), Shandu (), Caiyang (),

Xinye Xinye () is one of the counties of Nanyang that lies in the southwest of Henan province, China. To the south lies the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang in Hubei province, to the east is Tanghe County and to the west is the county-level city of ...

(), Zhuyang (), Jiyang (), Wudang (), Wuyin (), Xi'e (), Rang (), Li (), Anzhong (), Guanjun (), Biyang (), Pingshi (), Sui (),

She She most commonly refers to: *She (pronoun), the third person singular, feminine, nominative case pronoun in modern English. She or S.H.E. may also refer to: Literature and films *'' She: A History of Adventure'', an 1887 novel by H. Rider Hagga ...

(), Deng (), Chaoyang (), Luyang (), Chongling (), Xindu (), Huyang (), Hongyang (), Lecheng (), Bowang (), and Fuyang (). The total population in 2 AD was 1,942,051, in 359,116 households. By 140 AD, the population had grown to 2,439,618, in 528,551 households. During the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

era, multiple new commanderies were established. By the time when Jin dynasty reunited China (280 AD), the number of counties in Nanyang had been reduced to 14, namely Wan, Xi'e, Zhi, Luyang, Chou, Yuyang, Bowang, Duyang, She, Wuyin, Biyang, Nieyang, Guanjun and Li. The recorded population was 24,400 households. In Liu Song dynasty, only 7 counties remained in the commandery, while the population had decreased further to 38,132 individuals in 4,727 households by mid-5th century. In Sui and Tang dynasties, Nanyang Commandery became an alternative name of Deng Prefecture in the same region. In 742, the commandery administered 6 counties, and had a population of 165,257, in 43,055 households.'' New Book of Tang'', Chapter 40.

References

{{Han dynasty provinces Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420) Commanderies of the Southern dynasties Commanderies of the Northern dynasties Commanderies of the Sui dynasty